The government’s A Level failure leaves universities in the lurch

In response to @TheIFS report published today (19 Aug), Dr Tim Bradshaw, CEO of the @RussellGroup, said:

“This is a stressful time for students and our admissions teams at Russell Group universities are working tirelessly so as many students as possible can benefit from the skills and knowledge a university education provides.

“Supporting young people is the priority but the IFS is right to highlight the scale of the disruption the current situation has caused – and not just for students but for universities too. We continue to urge Government to provide guidance and additional support to help the sector deal with both the immediate and longer-term impact of an unprecedented rise in numbers. In particular, we have specifically asked the Government to guarantee it will provide funding to cover the additional costs of teaching high-cost subjects such as engineering, chemistry and health-related courses.

“Many of our members are taking more students this year and have committed to honouring offers made, however constraints on capacity, teaching and support resources and the need to ensure universities operate in a Covid-safe way, mean some places may have to be deferred.“